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HighlandWizard

My Beliefs:

Best to start with some of the things I cannot put my faith into:

First on this list is the Christian Church. I try to respect the religion, as I do all other belief systems. I do sincerely respect many of the people that live the faith on a daily basis. The different churches and denominations throughout the world do a great deal of good.

That said, my objection is with the organization, not the individual. I have participated in a variety of Christian religious organizations, Methodist, Southern Baptist and Catholic in particular. When I say "participated" I'm talking about several years commitment for each. I have been a member of each church and have been baptized in all three churches.

Sound like I was a camp jumper or religion junky? Not exactly. When I was a baby, my mother belonged to the church that gave her the most status in her community; early on in my life that was Methodist. I believe that my Mother operated on the "Blue Mud" theory, as described by fiction writer Robert Heinlein.) In later years, she changed denomination as need dictated. ("Blue Mud" theory - "Whenever the locals rub blue mud in their navels, I rub blue mud in mine just as solemnly." Lazarus Long, Time Enough For Love.) I spent the first 12 years or so in that church.

Later in my teen years, I joined the Southern Baptists because of a cute blond. Finally, I joined the Catholic Church because of a brunette. Very shallow reasons to join a church but I did do my best when I was there and was always solemn when I rubbed the blue mud into my navel.

The problem was, I never believed the dogma. I just did not buy into the story. Honestly, I did not know why. Back then all I knew was that it did not ring true with what I knew about the human race. After over half a century of learning and observing I have found no fact or extrapolation of fact to change my opinion.

It is my opinion, the Bible is a cobbled together piece of political fiction and deception. If in fact Jesus was the son of the "One God", I suspect he is pretty upset at what small minded, immoral, power mongering men have done with his teachings.

Personally, I do think Jesus was a real person and a good person. I believe that during his lost years he was with the Asine or possibly the Gnostic's. I believe that is where he received most of his religious training. Many of the Dead Sea Scrolls mirror the things Jesus taught his disciples. Jesus of Nazareth must have been a charismatic and powerful man to say the things he said and develop such a loyal following.

I suspect that the 12 to 14 year old "Virgin" Mary became pregnant prior to having relations with the 30-plus year old Joseph of Nazareth. Perhaps it was consensual and perhaps it was by the rape of a Roman soldier as one rumor suggests. (What Irony if Jesus were the son of a Roman soldier.)

It's hard for us to see a 12-year-old female as a grown-up, politically knowledgeable adult. However it is exactly what I and many historic theologians believe. In that era you grew up fast and 12 was old enough to marry, have children and keep a household. You had to work fast because you probably would not live past 45.

I think that Mary persuaded Joseph to take her to Bethlehem for the baby's birth, but not for the reason of reporting for the census. The Romans left very good records and there were no census held within six years of that time. Even if there had been, only Roman citizens would have been listed in it. I suspect that they went there to force the birth of the baby to fit a prophecy, predicting the King of the Jews would be born there. Weather she made it there before the baby was born is up for debate. Some Gospels say she did and some say she had the baby on the way.

The Judaic/Christian God is a mass of contradictions. From the very beginning, he behaves like a bully, giving Adam and Eve a Garden of Eden and snatching it back because He/She/It got angry.

By the way, have you ever heard of the Lilith story? Adam seems to have had a companion before Eve, Lilith, the mythological first wife of Adam, and the feminine dark side of the divine. She refused to be ordered around just because she was a woman and she left Adam. This story can be found in the Apocrypha or lost books of the bible. Here is a good link if you are interested. These documents were rejected when the Bible was being compiled. http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/apo/index.htm

It is said, God loves us, however, he still inflicts countless woes, ills and injustices on us. He made more sense in the Old Testament when he was a vengeful God; at least that would be consistent.

As far as Islam, from the limited knowledge of the Islamic religion I have, I doubt I could put my faith in Allah. I admit I know little but what I do know is in conflict with my world view, my view of the treatment of women, and my ideology in general.

Buddhism, I have had the opportunity to examine many of the teachings of Buddha. I find them very interesting and I have a great respect for the faith and its practitioners. I hope in the future to do more in-depth study of the teachings and principals. However, for now I am not prepared to put my faith in the teachings of Buddha.

All that is left is Atheist, Agnostic, and Pagan.

Atheism is far to certain of itself. There is no God and that is that. From the material I have available, they do not have any more evidence for the nonexistence of God, than the Christians, or any other group have to support his/her/its existence.

I could fall into the Agnostic camp very easily. However, I want to believe there is a power out there that gives our lives meaning. Without that, we are no better than a virus replicating out of control on the face of the earth.

I'm afraid I am (to use a Christian reference) a "Doubting Thomas" (or in my case a doubting Thomson). All I ask is to see the wound for myself. Jesus did not mind Thomas asking, why should he object if I wish the same proof.

If there is a God, I'll give "Him/Her/It/They" credit for being all-powerful. This sounds simplistic but it is far from it. An all-powerful God has the ability to be Allah, Buddha, Jehovah, Hern and names ad nauseam, all at the same time without contradiction. It's not a concept that humans will usually allow themselves to understand but it is the only concept that fits an all-powerful God.

If this is the case, it doesn't matter what God you worship. In a fashion, you have the power to choose your own Heaven or Hell.

You can manifest your own afterlife. If you believe in the Norse Gods you can spend an eternity in Valhalla, (The hall in which Odin received the souls of slain heroes. However, you will have to die in battle to get there!). On the other hand, if you believe you will be reincarnated, either as another life form, as another person, or as a bloodline relative, you will be. (I do have one question about reincarnation; Is it always linear or can you be reincarnated to the future?)

In the Hawking "String Theory" there is the hypothesis that infinite universes can coexist in the same time space. Perhaps this is where we go after we die, based on our belief systems. How sad if you have no beliefs. Perhaps the white light at the end of the tunnel is the transference portal between the dimensions or levels.

Finally, by definition, I must be a Pagan. I do not follow Christianity, Judaism or Islam. Those are the only three religions that are non-Pagan. Never mind that there are millions of Buddhist out there, they are just as Pagan as I am. Never mind the fact that their religion is thousands of years old and has one of the best moral and ethical platforms in the world today.

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I believe in belief: The power is within.

Over the centuries, we have invented a cacophony of deities to explain the extra ordinary things that happen in our lives. We believed that if we prayed hard enough or sacrificed enough to the Gods, they would be kind. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it did not

Over the centuries people have discovered that prayer does work. There have been many studies done by reputable, non secular educational institutions that prove the validity of this statement, on the physiological, medical and spiritual levels.

Early on in the history of mankind, some people found out that if they said the right words, burned the right herbs or performed the right rituals, they could effect the world around them. Today, we call these people faith healers, witches, wizards, alchemists and sorcerers. For them, the things they did worked, at least some of the time.

Modern science had discovered that a patient's attitude made a big difference in a patient's recovery. The medical community found that if a patient held the image of his recovery firmly in his head, visualized things like tumors shrinking and indulged in techniques such as laugh therapy and other mental disciplines, that patients did better, recovered more often and faster than patients that did not take advantage of these therapies, at least some of the time.

World class athletes figured out that if they visualized themselves playing the game, doing well and ultimately winning, that they improved their performance as much as practice and some of the time they did win. Every major professional sports and Olympic team in the world use these techniques.

What do all of these scenarios have in common? The Christian prays for Gods help and gets it, The Witch casts a spell and changes the outcome of an event, the patient visualizes a tumor away and the athlete takes home a gold medal.

The point is they all changed destiny. They change the reality that they live in. Through different modalities, rituals or other mechanisms they were able to bring about change. They all did what they did because they believed. The magic they all worked, came from within them.

The catch is, that you MUST believe! You can pray until you are blue in the face, cast spells until you are hoarse, think happy thoughts and visualize all you want, if you don't truly believe, it's just ritual, and not worth the time it takes.

The power is in you, not in any God, ritual or visual image. If you can see an action or outcome in your mind, you can make that outcome happen. I have seen it happen repeatedly.

In Chuck Norris's books on martial arts and training, he praises the advantages of visualization and positive thinking. He believes it works because experience has shown him it does. Study after study has been done that proves that prayer and visualization work. It works because the person doing the praying, or the spell casting or whatever, believes it will.

In fact, the person doing the prayer or ritual could be praying to a door knob and it would work just as well, as long as they had the same belief and trust in the outcome. It doesn't matter what God you pray to, it doesn't matter what herbs you use, it only matters that you believe.

The subconscious mind is like a darkroom within which we develop the images that are to be lived out in real life. The subconscious responds to habit and habitual thinking. We blithely let negative thoughts drop into the subconscious every minute of our lives, then are surprised when they find expression in day to day experiences and relationships. The law of your mind is the law of belief itself, What we believe makes us who we are.

So, the next question is why pray, why work so hard to cast that spell, why keep a good attitude and why visualize?

We do those things because the act of prayer or ritual helps us focus our power. It allows us to channel our power and convert it into action. It is a vehicle to focus our thoughts and a tool to visualize a way to allow the magic or miracle to work.

The knowledge that it "can" be done is three quarters of the battle. A few years back it was thought that a man could never break the four-minute mile. Then one day a man did it. Because others then knew it could be done, it was broken repeatedly. Today the 4-min mile is a good speed for a college athlete. The professionals are far beyond that mark. Time without end it has happened. When one visionary shows us that a thing is possible, others soon follow.

How is this possible? How can we control reality with our minds? Several answers come to mind.

The first is that reality is not real. A recent Hollywood science fiction film, The Matrix," postulated that we were all locked in a bubble, hooked to some cosmic power plant. Well, there is no way to prove that we are not. For all we know the reality we experience is a program running on some huge server somewhere, (the mind of God?). If this were the case, its not a far stretch to figure out a way to alter the code to alter reality.

Another possibility is that this is all just a dream, or you are in a coma in some hospital bed. You have no way to prove you exist, or prove that I exist. Various studies in sensory depravation over the past four or five decades has proven that when the mind is cut off from input it is capable of creating images and experiences just as real as any that you have experienced. The medical profession is quick to point out that the similar images experienced in near death experiences are the result of a lack of oxygen to the brain, generating a rush of natural chemicals into the brain, capable of making us believe some very amazing things.

The alternative I prefer to use is that the universe works on principals far beyond the elementary physics we are currently aware of. I believe that there are things available to us that we have not even dreamt of in our wildest dreams.

‘If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth’ (Mark 9:23). In all the old rituals of ancient times, with their weird mixtures and incantations, it was the power of suggestion and acceptance in the subconscious mind that healed. Even today, doctors report the power of placebos to produce miraculous recoveries if accompanied by doubt-free instructions that ‘this will do the trick’. Miracles of healing are simply the body obeying of the subconscious mind’s knowledge of ‘perfect health’ when the questioning nature of the normal conscious mind is silenced.

The power of your subconscious mind is simply written and tries to be free of culture or religion. Your subconscious mind creates everything in your life based on the messages and information you send to it. You are constantly sending messages and information to your subconscious mind and 90% of those messages are useless or are working against you. Then you wonder why things never get better no matter how hard you try, you are programming your mind. You need to be careful with your subconscious programming.

Your messages to your subconscious mind are your thoughts, beliefs and actions. So if you constantly worry about not having enough money -- you'll never have enough money. It's that simple. If you don't think you're capable of accomplishing your goals -- you'll never accomplish any of them. Why? Because your subconscious mind is always working on the information you send it and if that information is negative then you will only have a negative reality.

How does it do this? Once your subconscious mind gets your message it then connects with the people and events that will help create the situation based on your message. So if you think it is difficult to make money then your subconscious mind will go out and draw you to people and events to you that will make it difficult for you to make money.

Understand that your subconscious mind does not have a moral clause. It does not say that the message you are sending is good for you so let's create that. It does not say that the message you are sending is bad for you so let's not to do that. It does not distinguish between what is good for you and what is bad for you. It will only go out and create your reality based on the message you send.

It's important to understand that your messages to your subconscious mind are not just your thoughts! Everything you do, say and believe is picked up by your subconscious mind. So just because you start thinking you can -- that doesn't mean that things will miraculously change overnight. In order to get your subconscious mind to create the changes you want -- then you need to create a new way of living. And the first thing you have to do is get your mind working for you.

About 20-years ago computers were used to merely process and store information. Today they are used for just about everything. Computers are a key component of our lives. You're reading this web site with your computer. Today we realize that computers do more than just store and process information. The truth is that we really don't know just how much computers can do and we continue to expand their possibilities everyday.

Now, consider your mind a computer -- except you are only using your mind to record and process information. But it is capable of doing so much more. If you know how to use your mind correctly you can create everything you want in life. The only problem is that no one ever taught you how to use your mind. Those that are successful use the power of their mind everyday -- they just don't tell you how.

All I know is, believing it, seeing it and focusing on it works. Several of the companies I have worked for have had large sales divisions. Because some of my work in media overlapped their work, I have been invited to their sales seminars.

One of the techniques taught is always visualization. Because sales people are without exception, motivated by money and material positions, the trainer usually focuses on that as a vehicle to develop the salesperson's visualization ability. I spent months after one meeting laughing at the poster boards each salesperson had put above their desk with pictures clipped from magazines of everything from stacks of cold hard cash to a Porsche to an English country house. Believe me, they were a greedy lot.

However, six months later each salesperson carried their poster board to the biannual training seminar. One by one they held up their board of rag tag pictures and told the assembled audience what they had accomplished.

I have to say almost none of them had acquired everything on their board but a surprising number of them had come close, and ALL of them had made progress. The guy that wanted the sports car drove it to the meeting and the woman that wanted the QE2 as a private watercraft had purchased a 60-foot luxury boat. The guy with the huge stack of cash ended up being the top salesman of the year and did make well into six figures.

Well, I'm not as greedy as those salespeople are but there were a few things I had always wanted so I clipped a picture of a mid 1950's Harley above my desk. It was the bike I had always wanted but could never afford. A bike, almost exactly like the picture I had posted, now sits in my garage, same color and style. Except it's not an old rebuilt basket case, it's a purchased new FLSTC customized to look like the old scooter I wanted. In other words I got the cool bike I wanted and I got modern technology I needed. My subconscious knew that I hated having to constantly work on a vehicle to keep it on the road. So, it gave me a bike that looked right but with all of the modern care free features. My subconscious knew better than my conscious self, what I needed!

I had to ask: How did this work? The trainers answer was that the picture focused my unconscious mind. It allowed my mind to move me in the directions and to take the actions that lead to getting the object I was fixated on.

Another answer is that the part of my mind that is capable of working magic went to work and altered reality, bending it to fit the image I had given it to produce.

You are capable of the same magic on a day by day basis. Focus, visualize, use any ritual, icon or element that will allow you to believe. Let the magic in you go out into the world and do your biding. You don't have to fixate on a material object, you can visualize a better body or a healthy friend or the failure of a company that is tearing down the rain forest. If you and thousands like you focus your collective mental magic, you can make anything happen.

You say you know people that have tried and you have tried yourself, with no results. Why is it many have tried, they have studied, practiced and still failed. Why?

Because they just went through the actions without the belief. When you do that, there is no power, magic, and no alteration in the harmonic patterns in this reality.

Don't despair, all is not lost. It takes practice and sometimes a lot of time and effort to make it work. Slowly you will see results. Use every technique and tool you can find to convince your mind that it is real. Pretend it is real and in time, it will be.

Don't feel silly, or if you do go with it, enjoy it. Be alert; notice every time you succeed with even the smallest task. Eventually you will convince your mind that you are getting stronger. When your mind believes it, you will be stronger.

Some time in the future we will all believe, but for now, you can be on the ground floor of a powerful new revolution. You can be one of the powerful few.

In my mind, anything that can be conceived is possible. All of the mystical legends and psychic powers can exist if we believe they do. We can train that 80% of unused gray matter to work for us. We can communicate with those on other levels or in other parts of our own level, no matter how far away. We can change our medical condition and the health and welfare of those close to us. The sky is not the limit; there is no limit to what we can do if we only believe.

Over the centuries there have been individuals and small groups of people that tripped over these abilities. Most of the time they mistakenly attributed them to this God or that God. In spite of this they have developed the ability to alter their physiology, alter their biosigns, withstand amazing pain and possibly even travel outside of their own bodies

String Theory:

The renowned physicist Stephen Hawking has developed what he calls the 'String Theory.' He postulates that all time, matter, energy and space are made up of harmonic strings. This would allow infinite universes to coexist at the same moment and in the same space without the ability to perceive each other.

It was a surprising revelation that superstring theories are not just theories of one-dimensional objects. There are higher dimensional objects in string theory with dimensions from zero (points) to nine, called p-branes. In terms of branes, what we usually call a membrane would be a two-brane, a string is called a one-brane and a point is called a zero-brane.

What makes a p-brane? A p-brane is a spacetime object that is a solution to the Einstein equation in the low energy limit of superstring theory, with the energy density of the nongravitational fields confined to some p-dimensional subspace of the nine space dimensions in the theory. (Remember, superstring theory lives in ten spacetime dimensions, which means one time dimension plus nine space dimensions. More on that below.) A special class of p-branes in string theory are called D branes. Roughly speaking, a D brane is a p-brane where the ends of open strings are localized on the brane. A D brane is like a collective excitation of strings.

These objects took a long time to be discovered in string theory, because they are buried deep in the mathematics of T-duality. D branes are important in understanding black holes in string theory, especially in counting the quantum states that lead to black hole entropy, which was a very big accomplishment for string theory.

How Many Dimensions?

Before string theory won the full attention of the theoretical physics community, the most popular unified theory was an eleven dimensional theory of supergravity, which is supersymmetry combined with gravity. The eleven-dimensional spacetime was to be compactified on a small 7-dimensional sphere, for example, leaving four spacetime dimensions visible to observers at large distances. In other words our level of reality.

This theory didn't work as a unified theory of particle physics, because it doesn't have a sensible quantum limit as a point particle theory. But this eleven dimensional theory would not die. It eventually came back to life in the strong coupling limit of superstring theory in ten dimensions.

How could a superstring theory with ten spacetime dimensions turn into a supergravity theory with eleven spacetime dimensions? We've already learned that duality relations between superstring theories relate very different theories, equate large distance with small distance, and exchange strong coupling with weak coupling. So there must be some duality relation that can explain how a superstring theory that requires ten spacetime dimensions for quantum consistency can really be a theory in eleven spacetime dimensions after all.

Since we know that all string theories are related, and we suspect that they are different limits of some more fundamental theory, then perhaps that more fundamental theory exists in eleven spacetime dimensions? These question bring us to the topic of M theory.

The theory currently known as M

Technically speaking, M theory is is the unknown eleven-dimensional theory whose low energy limit is the supergravity theory in eleven dimensions discussed above. However, many people have taken to also using M theory to label the unknown theory believed to be the fundamental theory from which the known superstring theories emerge as special limits.

In M theory, there are also extended objects, but they are called M branes rather than D branes. One class of the M branes in this theory has two space dimensions, and this is called an M2 brane. Now consider M theory with the tenth space dimension compactified into a circle of radius R. If one of the two space dimensions that make up the M2 brane is wound around that circle, then we can equate the resulting object with the fundamental string (one-brane) of type IIA superstring theory. The type IIA theory appears to be a ten dimensional theory in the normal perturbative limit, but reveals an extra space dimension, and an equivalence to M theory, in the limit of very strong coupling.

We still don't know what the fundamental theory behind string theory is, but judging from all of these relationships, it must be a very interesting and rich theory, one where distance scales, coupling strengths and even the number of dimensions in spacetime are not fixed concepts but fluid entities that shift with our point of view.

Why Is Time A Dimension?

According to Isaac Newton, time was universal for all objects no matter their motion relative to one another. This point of view held until Einstein turned it on its head, because he was bothered that it wasn't consistent with the propagation of light as electromagnetic radiation.

Einstein's special theory of relativity, which makes classical mechanics consistent with classical electromagnetism, treats time like a coordinate in a unified spacetime geometry. If time is a coordinate, then instead of three coordinates to describe a point in space, we have four coordinates to describe an event in spacetime. So that's what is meant by saying that our spacetime has four dimensions. Usually we label them (t,x,y,z).

Special relativity is an approximate theory that is a good approximation when we can neglect the force of gravity and the acceleration of observers in the system. Einstein's full theory of spacetime, called general relativity, takes the concept of a four dimensional spacetime and extends it to a curved spacetime, where time and space make one united fabric that is curved and stretched and twisted by the distribution of matter and energy in the fabric.

From a mathematical point of view, both special and general relativity can be extended easily to higher space dimensions. If we have D dimensions of space and one time, then we say there are d = D + 1 dimensions of spacetime. The equations of motion can be solved and classified in d dimensions just like in four spacetime dimensions.

Harmonics:

It is possible that accessing these different dimension's is possible by manipulating the harmonics of the dimensional string we currently reside in. By changing the frequency or wavelength of our perception we may be able to move between these dimension's or at least see into them. It is a consideration that this is exactly what we do when we experience precognition, dreams, deja vu and visions. It is well documented that the theta and alpha brainwaves alter in all of these situations.

The best way to explain this theory is to compare the harmonic string of existence we live in to a guitar string. First of all, there is an inverse relationship between frequency and wavelength. As frequencies increase, the wavelength becomes shorter. But if you double the wavelength, the frequency would be halved.

The simplest wave is a pure tone (a sine wave, or sinusoid). Any waveform can be broken up in to a series of sinusoids of different frequencies (although there might be an infinite number of frequencies). If we view the shape of a string just before it is released as a waveform, we can then consider a single sinusoidal component at a time. In a vibrating string, each sinusoidal waveform defines the boundaries that the string moves between. Places where the string does not vibrate are called nodes or zeros.

Natural Frequencies:
A frequency is called a natural frequency if it can exist without any driving source. With our string, there is a physical interpretation of natural frequencies. A frequency is a natural frequency if its waveform has nodes that match up with the ends of the string. When you pluck a string, you are causing it vibrate at these natural frequencies. The lowest frequency at which this occurs is the fundamental - the pitch you hear or in our case the reality we see.

Of course, the waves in the string can have other nodes, in addition to the nodes at the ends of the string. These waves come from the other natural frequencies, which are the upper harmonics (also referred to as the higher partials). When you pluck a string, you are hearing a combination of these natural frequencies, and not a single tone.

The laws of physics as we currently understand them will not allow us to interact with these other levels of existence. However, as Arthur C. Clark said, Any science, sufficiently advance is indistinguishable from magic, (or magic, if you will).

Perhaps in the future we will find a way to consciously tap into these other level or realms. However, my belief is that we have the unconscious ability to do just that right now.

I don't know how and I don't know how to improve the connection but, I believe that it is as real as the computer I am typing this essay on.

Magic? Yes and no. Arthur C. Clark put it best when he said, "Any science, sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from Magic." If I went back in time to 1548 and showed my distant ancestor a box with small buttons that could show me pictures of far distant places, talk to me, play music and make information available on almost any subject imaginable, he would have been sure it was magic. In some times and places, it might have even gotten me a quick swing on a short rope or a hot foot on a tall stake!

On average, you use only 10% to 20% of your brain. What are the other 80% to 90% there for? Is this extra capacity the vehicle that can alter reality around me? Is it a left over or dormant part of the brain last used by a race of supermen before they were plunged into a long and dark age by some sort of global catastrophe, their power lost until we rediscover it?

We have much to learn. I believe we are on the brink of that knowledge.

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Reincarnation:

"And we shall live again" It' a line out of a favorite Celtic song. I question whether I believe in reincarnation, but at the deepest level I feel I do.

Have you ever gone somewhere you knew you had not visited before and yet still knew you had been there? Have you ever had the feeling that you had met someone before, when you had not? I have.

My wife and I have always held the feeling that we had been together before we met in this level of existence.

To me, the magic, force, spirit, soul or what ever you want to call it, that animates the shell we walk around is is an indestructible power. The death of the shell simply releases the force back into the where ever it resides.

I believe that all or at least part of that power enters a new host and gives it life. It is possible that intense memories may go along with the force. More likely is that intense feelings such as love and hate are retained.

This is why when I touched my wife's hand for the first time I knew we were meant to be together, we had been before, many times.

I believe that this resonate life force tends to seek out familiar resonance or harmonics. They are entities that they feel comfortable. This force exists as pure feelings without intellect. The power can't add 2+2 but it can control your feelings of love.

There are so many questions I have. Is the transference random or is it purposeful? Do we return as different types of people or are we our own descendants, as many of the Celts believed, (this is how they explained family resemblance). Is the process linear? in other words do all my past lives have to be from my past, or can the force transcend time and space to land in my future first and later enter in my past, wherever they want to? Is there an end to the process? So many questions.

For the foreseeable future, there can be no absolute scientific proof of reincarnation, and none against it. It is up to the individual whether they take a personal stand or not on the issue.

It is known that the Egyptians believed in reincarnation or the transmigration of the soul. They thought the soul transmigrated from body to body and this was a reason why they embalmed the body in order to preserve it so that it could journey along with KA,, an animating force that was believed to be counterpart of the body, which would accompany it in the next world or life. Ka might be considered equivalent to the term of soul. This establishes the dating of the concept of reincarnation back to the ancient Egyptian religion but many think it dates beyond antiquity.

The belief is thought to have been an necessity among primitive peoples. Certainly long before ancient Egypt peoples believed in transmigration of the soul. If they were not sophisticated enough to understand the concept of a soul, then they may have simply called it life. An individual or object which moved had life, and the one which did not, did not have life. This is analogous to the belief of animism.

Gradually the concept of a soul developed with a further realization that the soul departed the body at death and entered the body at birth. Soon it was thought the soul leaving a dead body would seek another body to enter, or enter an animal of a lower life form. It was also thought the soul left the body during sleep. This soul was pictured as vapors that entered and left through the nostrils and mouth.

Later grew the notion the soul transmigrated to an infant of one of dead person's kin. This helped to explain family resemblance.

The terms reincarnation and transformation of the soul, especially when applied to humans, are about synonymous. However reincarnation is not accurately synonymous with either metamorphosis or resurrection. Metamorphosis is roughly the changing of one life form into another life form. Resurrection, in the Christian sense, means the rising again of the body after death.

About the first definition of soul transmigration came from Pythagoras, the Greek philosopher and mathematician, who taught that the soul was immortal and merely resides in the body; therefore, it survived bodily death. His further teachings held the soul goes through a series of rebirths. Between death and rebirth the soul rests and is purified in the Underworld. After the soul has completed this series of rebirths is becomes so purified that it can leave the transmigration or reincarnation cycle.

Plato, another Greek philosopher, shared similar views as Pythagoras in that the soul of man was eternal, pre-existence, and wholly spiritual. In Plato's view of the transmigration of the soul from body to body, however, there is a difference. Plato claimed the soul tends to become impure during these bodily inhabitation although a minimal former life knowledge remains. However, if through its transmigration the soul continues doing good and eliminates the bodily impurities it will eventually return to its pre-existence state. But, if the soul continually deteriorates through its bodily inhabitation's it will end up in Tartarus, a place of eternal damnation. This appears to be an origination of both the concept of karma and the Christian concept of hell.

It was around the first century AD that both the Greek and Roman writers were surprised by the fact that the Druids, a priestly caste of the Celts (see Druidism), believed in reincarnation. The Greek writer Diordus Siculus (c. 60 BC - 30 AD) noted that the Druids believed "the souls of men are immortal, and that after a definite number of years they live a second life when the soul passes to another body." The Greek philosopher Strabo (c. 63 BC - 21 AD) observed the Druids believed that "men's souls and the universe are indestructible, although at times fire and water may prevail."

Even Julius Caesar wrote of the Celts "They wish to inculcate this as one of their leading tenets, that souls do not become extinct, but pass after death from one body to another, and they think that men by this tenet are in a great degree stimulated to valor, the fear of death being disregarded." Elsewhere Caesar complained the Druids were a troublesome people. They were difficult to destroy.

There is little evidence of reincarnation among the early Hebrew people but it later became a part of the Kabbalistic teaching. The teaching occurred among the early Christians, especially the Gnostics, Manichaeans, and the Carthari, but was later repudiated by orthodox Christian theologians. Later, in AD 533, reincarnation was declared a heresy by the Council of Constantinople.

The reason reincarnation was repudiated was because of the eschatological teachings of death and judgment which were established as orthodox Christian doctrine. In simplicity this doctrine states man has just one life in which to merit his eternal reward or damnation. Such a doctrine also strengthened the Church. However, many Christians still believe in reincarnation because they think it was taught by Christ.

Some see reincarnation as a learning experience. Each reincarnation not only purifies the soul more, but this purification comes through opportunities to learn more in life if the soul is willing. Here is a division of thought concerning reincarnation. Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism teach each reincarnation may be different, that is, man may return as a lower life form such as a plant, tree, or animal.

Certain sects of Gnosticism held this belief too. The rationale of such a belief is that the soul has to experience all aspects of life. Western thought of reincarnation is that man just reincarnates to higher spiritual levels of life, but never returns as a lower life form. In Western philosophy it is also held if man does not reach a higher spiritual level he must repeat the cycle until he does.

Most Wizards, occultists and witches believe reincarnation is a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. As to the exact cyclical process there are divergent views. Some hold a view similar to the Buddhists the individual personality disintegrates at death with its characteristics forming in a pool with other traits which come together in new reincarnations. Others believe reincarnations only occur within a tribe, race, or family. This is Odinism.

Another view is that there is a resting period between reincarnations, where the soul rests in a state of bliss in the astral plane called Summerland before it passes into the next reincarnation.

It is impossible to put everything I believe on one page. I have tried here to give you a few of my personal beliefs. As time progresses I expect them to change and evolve. For now This is my understanding.

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